A Day in My Life (Teresa)

It was expected that I be married at a young age.  I, like most other princesses of my day, got married in my early teens.  It was expected that we would marry the next Pharaoh in line for the throne.  Most of the time, it was our own brother we were married to.  In my case, I was married to my father before my brother.  In all, I had four husbands, including my grandfather.

Pharaohs were expected to marry a number of wives.  I, being my husband’s sister, was the chief wife.  I was known as my kings 'Great Royal Wife.’  Some princesses of my time would be married to Egyptian noblemen.  Pharaohs never allowed their daughters to marry foreign royalty.  After my third husband's death - and going against this tradition - I reached out to a neighboring king to marry one of his sons.  Unfortunately, subjects in my kingdom murdered my husband-to-be because they did not want a foreigner to be king.

I actually received a good education and I knew how to write.  Usually, Egyptian girls were not given an education and instead were taught things like spinning and weaving.  These domestic skills were things I did not need to learn.

I loved music and dancing.  I played games with my sisters and brothers and even with my ladies in waiting.  My favorite game was a dancing game called the 'Hathor Dance' where we danced in a ring while holding mirrors and sistrums - this was a rattle sacred to Hathor.  'Pressing the Grapes' was my favorite game along with playing with balls.  Another pastime I enjoyed was swimming.  We actually had our own swimming pool in our palace.

I had servants for everything and was pampered with the finest fruits, foods, and wines.  I had the finest clothes.